Wichita State’s Kristi Bredbenner Shares Insights into Recruiting and the Transfer Portal

Photo courtesy Wichita State Softball

I had the privilege to stop in at Wichita State while they were hosting a camp. I had planned to just get an interview with a couple players but in true Coach B fashion she was gracious and went with the it!  Not all coach will let you sit down during the very limited time they have for grabbing a quick bite to eat between the morning and afternoon session of their camp!

Today we cover her thoughts on the portal and how it’s changed so much of the landscape of college softball.

EIS : What you have seen positive about the portal since it’s started.

Coach B:  I think there’s a time and a place for the portal. I think,  unfortunately, circumstances change, coaches change. Maybe you were recruited by the hitting coach and they’re no longer there, or maybe the school decides to drop their major. I think the portal offers a second chance for something that really didn’t work out. And we’ve benefited from it. You know, Bailey Lang transferred here from Northern Iowa. And I felt like she flourished in our program. Zoe Jones transferred from Texas Tech, flourished in our program. Sometimes you get into a program maybe it’s not necessarily what you expected it to be. Maybe the personalities don’t match.  Sydney McKinney transferred she was a mid -year transfer, her freshman year it was a great option for her. The portal, in my opinion, is awesome for that.

EIS:  And what are some of the downsides of the portal?

Coach B:  What it’s not awesome for is for kids to just be jumping in around, looking for a better opportunity instead of wanting to put in the work to get on the field. It’s for the player that want a guarantee that, hey, I didn’t get to play and maybe they don’t think I need to put in the work necessarily to get into the lineup so I can go to the portal and try to guarantee myself a playing time. There’s nothing wrong with that, I guess. But for me as a softball coach, I want the kids that want to put in the work.  I want the kids that don’t think that when they walk on our field that they’re going to be a starter right off the bat. I want them to continue to work through their junior and senior year.  At the end of the day, those are the kind of kids we must recruit. We’re not getting the blue chippers that can be a difference maker when they do transfer, and there’s a lot of those kids out there. But I think every circumstance is different. To me, the concerns that I have about the portal really have more to do with transferring more than once. You know, why are you transferring more than once? What isn’t making you happy? What are the reasons that some of this stuff’s happening?

EIS: How do you try to do some of the work in the recruiting process so the players you do recruit stick with your program?

Coach B: There’s always a great chance that personalities are going to conflict. And you know, it’s hard to figure some of that kind of stuff out in the recruiting process because we don’t get to do a tryout with you. Besides camps we don’t get to work out with the player.  Day in and day things are different.  But what we do at camp is very similar to what we do at practice. We try to take our drills from practice and make them a part of our camps because we want to be as transparent as possible so that players know what they are getting into here at Wichita. I don’t think every program is like that.

EIS: How has the portal changed your recruiting?

Coach B: I think it’s hard to get a read on kid these days. There is a difference because now in the players mind, they can always leave. And obviously, at the coach’s mind, you hope you’re not having to replace the kids you recruit. The part of the portal that is really frustrating is when you’re spending all this time for an entire year developing this player and making them so much better. They came in and they were pretty good. But by the end of their freshman or sophomore year, they’re an All-American. And then somebody’s sending them direct messages via social media from their players or contacting their travel ball and saying, hey, is this kid interested in transferring?  Is she happy? It’s the tampering.

EIS: So it’s the behind the back type stuff that really makes it hard on knowing where players are at in wanting to transfer?

Coach B: Yes, And to me, the tampering piece of that needs to get under control. I think it’s tough. It’s a tough realization for all of us as coaches, especially at the mid -major level when you have players that have really done well and been all -Americans and things like that to hear that people are reaching out to them. And it says a lot to me about our program that they’ve stayed. I think that that’s huge, but is that always going to be the case? I don’t know.. Well, you hope that you get that player that’s loyal. When we recruit we are looking for that type of player that maybe somebody approaches them and they turn it down.

You know, we have a lot of players on our team who have had to develop to get playing time that they’re looking for. And I credit them for sticking it out year in and year out and maybe not getting the playing time that they want early. But that playing time means so much more when they get it later, when they’re getting it that junior year and that senior year. As a coach we are always trying to develop, trying to create a really good human being, give them a really great experience and make them happy so that that leaving isn’t on their mind. But the success of your program dictates a lot of that happiness as well. So as long as your program’s doing well, I don’t think you have as many issues.

EIS: Well, you’ve had a lot of success the past few years so congrats for that. We all just came back from convention is was anything discussed with the portal. Is there anything that you are actively a part of to help weigh in on ways to regulate that portal?

Coach B: I think we all are trying to find ways to make softball more ethical. You know, I mean the portal is not going away or actually maybe the portal is going away and we’re going to allow kids to transfer as much as they want, I think we’re all watching legislation. I just think we as human beings need to know what our moral compass is and if we can stick to our moral compass a little bit more and be honest with each other. I think that there’s some positive that can come out of that.  I think that goes for the student athlete as well I mean, you know, we live in a society where we’re always trying to look for the next best thing the easiest thing where I could be the most successful and You know, unfortunately when you have that type of a mentality of loyalty can go out the door and unfortunately that’s life. That’s not just in college softball or sports it’s in the business world too. You know, you’re always wanting to look for something better.

I’ve had the privilege to talk with Coach B several times over the years and she remains steadfast on her desire to have player that are 100% committed. They’re all in and the stick with the program. She wants them to go through the highs the lows and they walk away a better person. Maybe it wasn’t always easy and maybe they didn’t always get what they wanted but at the end of the day they stuck to the commitment they made they are better for it and so is her program.

Stay connected with EIS.  We will hear more from Coach B in coming articles as well as get updates from Senior All-American Addison Barnard who is feeling pretty good after coming back from a shoulder injury.

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